BYU Swimmer, Divers Earn Weekly Conference Honors

PROVO -- For the second time in just three weeks of competition, BYU swimmer Arunas Savickas and divers Scott Randall and Rachelle Smith were all honored as Mountain West Conference athletes of the week Wednesday.

Savickas, a junior from Panevezys, Lithuania, earned MWC male swimmer of the week honors for his performances in two dual meets against Washington last weekend. Savickas won all of his individual events (100 free, 200 free, 200 back) and swam a strong first leg to lead his 200 medley relay team to victory in Saturday's meet. Savickas owns the conference's top times in the 200 and 500 free and the runner-up time in the 100 free, just two-hundredths of a second out of first. Savickas was also honored as the male swimmer of the week on Nov. 10.

Diver Scott Randall, a freshman from Mesa, Ariz., was named the conference's male diver of the week for the second week in a row. While competing at the highly competitive USC Trojan Diving Invitational, Randall won the platform event with a 396.70, just under 33 points ahead of his closest competitor. Randall also narrowly missed a first-place finish on the 3-meter board, placing second by just five-hundredths of a point behind Stanford's Lucas Brower.

Senior All-American Rachelle Smith rounded out the Cougar honorees by being named the conference female diver of the week. Smith, who hails from West Valley City, also competed at the Trojan Diving Invitational. Smith won the 1-meter event with a score of 429.20, 63 points ahead of runner-up Heidi Prosser of UCLA. On the 3-meter board, Smith was BYU's highest finisher at seventh place. Smith also received diver of the week recognition Nov. 10.

BYU's women's swim team did not compete last week. Both the swimming and diving teams are off this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but will resume competition next week at the three-day Speedo Cup in California.